Reader's Tips Summarized

Check out the Role Playing Games at Troll and Toad

Troll and Toad.com is the authority on RPGs, Board Games,
Miniatures, Magic The Gathering, CCGs (collectible card
games) and Video Games. With decades in the gaming scene you
can rest assured we are reliable, knowledgeable and we
provide top tier customer service.

Troll and Toad is a name you can trust! We have been in
business since 1991 and we're a member of the Better
Business Bureau in good standing.

Love games? Take a look at our massive inventory at Troll
And Toad.com

A Brief Word From Johnn

Awhile ago I put a request out for your unused Pathfinder
stuff. I want to give a quick thanks to Kev B for the
Pathfinder module. Thanks Kev, it arrived in perfect
condition!

Reviewer Needed For Goodman Games 4E Modules

I have a small stack of D&D 4E modules and supplements from
Goodman Games to review. However, I'm swamped and don't have
time to give them a good examination and review write-up.

If you have the time and are interested, drop me a note.

Carnus Campaign Nears Conclusion

A year ago my group started a D&D 4E homebrew campaign. The
setting was a small corner of a world dominated by the free
city of Carnus. In their first quest, the PCs inadvertently
let agents of Orcus open a permanent gate to Shadowfell. At
that point all campaign plans went out the window, and we
focused instead on an epic quest to close this gate.

Weeks of game time have passed and undead are still pouring
out of the gate. They've besieged Carnus and have infested
the countryside. Soon food will run out, and there is an
hourly danger of zombies, ghasts, ghosts and worse breaching
defenses and attacking the populace.

To combat the undead, an ancient evil has reappeared - the
Dragon Lords. It took massive armies, powerful magic, and
great sacrifice to defeat the Dragon Lords eight centuries
ago. Now they are back - the PCs do not know how - and they
battle the undead. A stalemate of sorts has been reached,
which is ok as it gives the party a bit more time to save
the world (from one evil, at least).

Last game, session #25, the group found the final piece of a
broken key needed to open an ancient prison where the
knowledge of how to close a permanent gate to another plane
is said to lie. The PCs entered the prison and have begun a
dungeon crawl (the Pyramid of Shadows module).

The crawl is interesting as factions operate within the
magical prison, and the PCs have already parleyed with two.
We ended the session with an agent of one faction captured
and ready for interrogation.

Next week we're holding a special 12 hour game session in an
effort to claw through the whole crawl. The session could
end in salvation or TPK. I can't wait to see how the
campaign ends!

More Insanity at Home! Azathoth Seeks Cultists

A Mythos adventure set in 5 different eras from the Vikings
to the Samurai and the Wild West is now looking for
designers, playtesters, and supporters. What secrets does
the Codex of the Harbinger Star hold? What madness awaits
when the Red Eye of Azathoth opens?

The Road to Plot Hook Recovery: Stale Plot Hook Tips and Tricks

What exactly is a plot hook? To me they are the baited hooks
you tease in front of your players until they sink their
teeth into one. Then you reel them into wherever you wanted
to take them in your campaign.

Compelling plot hooks can launch an entire campaign, while
stale ones can crash and burn leaving you to try to salvage
your night of gaming.

I don't believe bad plot hooks exist. Every hook has
something to bring to your campaign. You just need to bring
the greatness out!

Stale plot hooks are characterized by being overused, cliche
or expected. People expect certain things to happen when
they are in a tavern or when they meet strangers on the
road. People have expectations, and you can turn these
expectations into great plot hooks!

Part of the road to plot hook recovery is training your mind
to see plot hooks differently. Old plot hooks are a great
resource you can turn to when you get writers block or
simply don't have the time to prepare for a campaign. You
just need to look at them in a different light and present
them to your players in different ways.

Below are several ways to rejuvenate a stale plot hook.

1. Get the Players Invested

Get your players invested in the hook. A major flaw of stale
plot hooks is that the players know the hooks so well they
don't care about them. Getting players invested in the hook
brings the interest back.

It might seem like a simple thing, but connecting the hook
to an NPC the players already care about can often be enough
to get them charging into the dragon's den for that darned
princess.

For example, the Mayor asking the PCs to find a stolen
locket is much less powerful then Anna, their favorite
barmaid that has been giving them information for 10 levels,
asking them to help find a stolen heirloom of hers. Getting
the players invested is a quick and easy way to improve
response to your hooks.

Do Something Unexpected

Freshen up a plot hook by do something with it the PCs don't
expect. It doesn't have to be a big change, just some small
twist to make it seem fresh and new.

A favorite tactic is to start the players in the middle of
the plot and let them piece together what is going on. Just
having the players start in the middle gives them such a
different perspective on the events no one notices until
long after the game that it seemed a bit similar to another
hook.

Little, unexpected twists to the plot hook can add tons of
value as players wonder what you might be up to next.

Add Details

The second major flaw in stale plot hooks is their cliche,
generic nature. When a plot consists of "[authority figure]
calls [hero] to slay [evil monster] in [creepy forest] to
return [priceless treasure]" you know it's stale.

That same plot hook could seem a lot more interesting loaded
with details from your existing campaign. This tip meshes
well with getting the players invested, but goes beyond
using just established NPCs.

Maybe the [creepy forest] was where they fought the spiders
5 levels ago (I wonder what ever happened to those
buggers?). The [priceless treasure] was the circlet of peace
you delivered between the two feuding kingdoms months ago.

An established gameworld, even if only a couple sessions in,
is a gold mine of content to use in your plot hooks. Take
advantage of it.

Gunslingers in Space?

Strip the plot hook down to its basics to find out what made
it entertaining in the first place. Keep that part and
retool the rest of the hook around it.

Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh coat of paint to make
something seem new again (it sure worked for my living
room). After all, the classic save the princess from the Red
Dragon feels a bit different when it's the Dragonborn
Matriarch that was kidnapped by the Stone Giant. Or if you
take a cowboy western and base it in space.

These changes will seem large to the players, but really
it's just an older plot hook in a new setting.

What do you mean we were second?

One thing I can't recommend enough is cultivating rival NPCs
for your players. They can add so much potential to so many
things in a campaign, including spicing up your hooks. Have
the King give the two groups the same quest and have them
compete to complete the task (and to get that juicy reward).

Another option is to have the NPCs get the job first, and
send the PCs in later to rescue them (bonus points if the
situation is 'Not What It Seems'). Adding rivals into a plot
gives the hook a whole new dimension.

The Modular Gameworld Newsletter - Shameless plug from my
website, we are printing ready made plot hooks to use in a
variety of games in our newsletter, as well as tips on
creating your own. The inaugural edition goes out Sunday,
September 20.

Two tea-bags and a few micro-tablets of sweetener in a
small Zip-Loc bag.

A7 note-paper cut down from old printed PC sheets and
paper-clipped together inside a small Zip-Loc bag.

A USB memory stick with all sorts of game-related files
including image galleries, world info sheets, PC sheets,
ambiance sorted music, and games utility files, such as a
random-namer, sheet-of-dice-rolls generator, group synthesis
sheets, spells lists, etc.

An eraser.

Liquid paper.

A stick of paper-glue.

Scissors.

Super-glue.

Half a dozen paper clips.

A cheap calculator.

In case you're wondering, it all fits smoothly into a
leather carrying case about 8cm by 20cm by 25cm.

A leather case and a metal ruler might seem overly
expensive. But think about how long cheaper plastic versions
would have lasted and the cost of replacing them every
couple of years.

My leather carrying case has been changed exactly once in
the 27 years I've been roleplaying - and that only because
it got damaged during a fire. Due to the heroic resistance
of the leather the contents remained unscathed, despite fire
licking at it until the firemen arrived to throw it out of a
window onto the paving two stories below where it remained
for two rainy days. Now that is a testimonial!

Here's hoping this may inspire a few "upgrades" to dice-bags
that help some people avoid minor hassles in the future.

4. Revised D&D 3.5 SRD

5. The One Sheet Mystery

From: Amy Driscoll

My favourite game to run is the locked room mystery.

In the process of creating these, I've developed a
spreadsheet that you might find useful to easily craft a
tight mystery without resorting to flowcharts, sticky notes,
bits of string and colour coded folder systems. Don't laugh;
I've been there.